Big money for youngsters ahead of U19 WC

KOLKATA: Less than one month before the under-19 World Cup, IPL franchises showed they were willing to invest in the young ones with five of them being picked at Thursday’s auction here.

Left-hand batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal was bagged by Rajasthan Royals (RR) for ~2.40 crore at over 10 times his base price. RR also took fast bowler Kartik Tyagi for ~1.3 crore and left-arm fast bowler Akash Singh at his base price of ~20 lakh.

Batsman and under-19 World Cup skipper Priyam Garg went to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for ~1.90 crore and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi fetched ~2 crore, 10 times his base price, going to Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). That Bishnoi fetched as much as allrounder Mitchell Marsh and Garg went for just ~10 lakh less is proof of how SRH rate these Indian teens.

Jaiswal, who hit a double century for Mumbai against Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this season, attracted interest from Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), KXIP and RR. “He is someone we are looking at for the next four-five years. There often is a lot of money to spend on a small group and such price tags can be tough on young players but this is a long journey we want to take with Jaiswal,” said Manoj Badale, co-owner RR. The Royals also bought 20-year-old wicket-keeper Anuj Rawat at four times his base price of ~20 lakh.

SRH also bought 22-year-old batsman Virat Singh for ~1.9 crore and added to the roster Sandeep Bavanaka, a 27-yearold batsman, all-rounder Abdul Samad who is from Jammu and

Kashmir, and left-arm spinner Sanjay Yadav. “We have a fairly settled roster and with someone like Mitch (Marsh) we can get power in the middle and the end. The Indians we bought are good and we wanted to give them opportunity to grow,” said SRH coach Trevor Bayliss.

The idea of investing in youth isn’t new at IPL auctions. Before India won the last under-19 World Cup, KKR bet on Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti. Gill has since proved himself and KKR hope that in 2020 both fast bowlers Mavi and Nagarkoti will recover from injuries and play the full IPL. KKR also bought bowler Siddharth M, 20, for ~20 lakh on Thursday.

Ishan Porel, also an under-19 World Cup winner in 2018 with Mavi, Nagarkoti and Gill, got his first IPL team when KXIP took him for ~20 lakh. “We wanted an Indian fast bowler who could be a backup for Mohammad Shami,” said KXIP coach Anil Kumble.

TAMBE FOR KKR

The oldest player in the IPL, 48-year-old spinner Pravin Tambe was bought at his base price of ~20 lakh by KKR. Playing for Rajasthan Royals, Tambe took a hat-trick against KKR in 2014.